


My Hero

by Raven_Ehtar



Series: Prompt Fills [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Avengers Family, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, FrostIron - Freeform, M/M, Matchmaker Peter Parker, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Pining Loki (Marvel), Pre-Slash, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-03-01 10:30:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18798550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Ehtar/pseuds/Raven_Ehtar
Summary: Loki refuses to think of himself as a hero, but Peter is determined to improve his reputation on Earth. And maybe to finally get Loki and Tony together.





	My Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Story number 11 for Story a Day May!
> 
> This was a prompt picked up from @frost-iron on tumblr. I can't find the original post to link back to, but it was a lot simpler than what I put together here. Because my touch complicates all. XD
> 
> Still working on writing and editing at a sprinting pace. If you spot any errors, feel free to point them out, I'll get them fixed when I have a chance! ♥

Loki refused to think of himself as a hero.

It was a ridiculous affectation which seemed to be the norm for the group of fools he had chosen to associate himself with. They were all ‘heroes,’ in charge of protecting their planet from threats, internal and external. Why he _had_ chosen to associate with the lot of them was something of a mystery even to himself many days. He could have just as easily gone off and explored the galaxy on his own – arguably, that would have been even _easier_ than attempting to integrate on Earth.

He had a bit of a reputation on Earth, and if anything, associating with a bunch of morons calling themselves heroes – or _super_ heroes – wasn't making that any easier.

And yet, he never left Earth, or even the Avengers Tower. He tried to convince himself to leave from time to time, laying out all of the very good reasons he had to do just that, the most convincing of all being that there was no one _stopping_ him.

He'd lay out all of his very good reasons why he should leave, plan out where it he would go and what sorts of trouble he would throw himself into… and then he'd find some small, innocuous reason to stay. Something far too small to outweigh all of the ‘pro leave’ reasons he'd come up with, but which nonetheless completely derailed him.

Things like finishing the magical experiment he'd begun, or waiting to see if Peter made it into his college of choice, or helping Stark with _his_ latest experiments, or watching hours old footage of Rogers’ exploits – with the clear and definite intention of mocking him relentlessly about it. All small, pointless things in the long run, things which he would hardly be missed for, and which he would not materially suffer for not finishing.

And yet they all held him back, kept him bound to this insufferable planet. He had no _obligation_ to stay. He _could_ leave any time he wanted, and his absence would probably cause nothing more than a brow raise out of anyone save Thor.

Eventually he came to the reluctant conclusion that it was because, for some reason, he _wanted_ to stay.

He also concluded that he could never, ever allow that knowledge to become widespread.

—•—

“Mr. Loki, look!”

Loki looked up from his book, catching sight of an over excited teen coming straight at him, backpack over one shoulder and a newspaper clutched in his hand. He raised a brow at the boy. “Parker, how many times have I asked you to just call me 'Loki’?”

“About as many times as I've asked you to call me 'Peter,’” he replied without hesitation. He even managed to keep his face semi-serious for a few seconds longer than Loki did, before breaking into a smile.

“It’s awkward to call me ‘Mr.’ anything,” Loki pointed out. “It’s not a naming convention on Asgard, and even if it were, it wouldn’t be used in conjunction with my first name.”

Peter rolled his eyes, swinging his backpack off and depositing it next to the coffee table before plopping down onto the couch next to Loki. He wasn’t sure he would ever get used to how comfortable the boy was around him, or with how quickly he had become so. Even Thor was usually more tense around him these days than this Midgardian teen.

“And it’s just weird to call me ‘Parker,’ thank you. It makes you sound like one of my teachers. Or like you don’t like me.”

Loki snorted. “I refer to everyone by their last names. When I’m being polite, at least.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t exactly reassure me about the whole ‘not liking me’ thing.” He nudged his shoulder into Loki’s, still smiling. “Besides, you don’t call _everyone_ by their last names. You haven’t called Tony ‘Stark’ in ages.”

Loki stiffened, eyeing Peter from the corner of his eye.

It wasn’t exactly easy to miss that he’d started calling Stark ‘Anthony’ instead, but it had been his assumption that everyone would assume that it was simply another way to annoy the man – as he did seem to be quite annoyed by being called his proper given name.

The fact that it _was_ his given name, and therefore much more personal than his surname didn’t seem to really cross anyone’s mind. Nor did the fact that Anthony’s annoyance was something which Loki was delighting in. Annoyance meant that he had Anthony’s attention, at the very least. And his attention was what he wanted.

Attention from Anthony, at least. He wasn’t so sure about anyone else’s attention. And certainly not attention _regarding_ his… attitude _towards_ Anthony.

“And that ought to provide you with the necessary context for why calling you anything _other_ than Parker would mean absolutely nothing,” he said as primly as he could, closing his book and setting it aside.

“Uh huh.” Peter didn’t sound convinced, and when Loki glanced at him again the boy was watching him with a skeptical look in his eyes.

Loki cleared his throat. Peter was far too perceptive, either due to his heightened senses from the spider, or the fact that he was still immersed in an environment filled with more hormones and drama than any sane person could be expected to navigate without developing _some_ sort of heightened awareness of their own. It seemed absurd that the one he had to be the most cautious around was the _child_ of the group. And, moreover, the one who seemed to not only tolerate him, but to enjoy his company.

“You had something you wanted to show me?”

It was an obvious deflection, but Peter didn’t do more than give a small smile and little eyebrow raise before he pulled out the newspaper he’d had tucked under his arm. He unfolded it so that the headline and front picture were revealed, and it became a little clearer why he had thought to show Loki.

“I see that the Avengers made it to the front page again,” he commented. “A better photo than what they usually print.”

“Uh. Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” The boy’s ears went red, but before Loki could ask any questions, Peter opened up the paper, flipping the oversized pages until he found the articles he was looking for. “It’s mostly the same kind of thing that they normally write – what was going on, how the Avengers took care of it, who was there, the clean up afterwards and all of that. But here, look! They added a secondary article to the main on, expanding on this little bit right here.”

Loki followed where Peter’s fingers were indicating, scanning over the text. It was as he said it would be: a breakdown of what had happened the day before when the Avengers had received a call to action and taken care of an incident downtown. Reasonably minor, only a few of them had gone out, so there was little enough to report, but the author was taking up as many inches as they could, giving information on each of the ‘heroes’ who had appeared, most of which – if not all – were things which were common knowledge. Anthony got a full paragraph to himself, of course, but then there was plenty of type used for Thor, then Rogers, and then—

Then Loki.

He stared, a little shocked at the amount of ink which followed his name. Though it might make sense, he thought, considering what his reputation had once been – and still was amongst some of the citizens.

Except that the tone for what was being said about him was very nearly the same as it was with the rest of the article. A little more cautious, perhaps, given that there was less publicly known about him than the rest – save for the obvious, which the author seemed to be attempting to tiptoe around.

He read it to the end. For the most part it was a reiteration of the few details he had even been asked in interviews, or which had come from others in reference to him, and a small list of some of the more memorable battles he had participated in while a part of the Avengers team. Once that was read, he cast his eye to the additional article, wondering what else could possibly be said, as the first one had more or less told everything there _was_ to tell about him that anyone on this planet knew for certain.

The second article was... a surprise. Rather than a repetition of all the information given just a page away, it added to it in the form of speculation and opinion.

By itself that wasn’t saying very much. There was plenty of speculation and opinion on him even _within_ the team. What was strange was that the article, like the one before it, was surprisingly positive in its presentation. The speculation was along the lines of what he intended to do as a member of the team once he’d gotten his footing, framing his magical abilities and cleverness (re: sneakiness) as _positives_ which could benefit the team dynamic as a whole. There was also been a poll, it seemed, taking the public opinion of Loki. It was far from overwhelmingly positive, but considering where it was he had stated out, it was staggeringly optimistic.

Peter was watching him as he read, as his expression shifted the further along in the article he went. A smile pulled at his lips as Loki’s face gradually slackened in astonishment.

“You see?” he asked, voice practically vibrating with excitement. “You keep saying how you should be keeping yourself inside, seen as little as possible? I think you got it the wrong way around. I think if you went out and were seen _more_ , as being someone who _helps_ people, then everyone would start thinking of you as a hero!”

It was only because Loki _did_ like the boy that he kept himself from scoff in his face. It wouldn’t be fair to quash his optimism so swiftly. “Yes, well… We’ll have to see about that in the future, won’t we?”

Peter actually frowned at him, then. “That’s not going to work on me, I’m not that dumb. ‘In the future’ means you don’t intend to do it at all and are just hoping that I forget about it.”

Loki smirked. “Does it?”

“Yes. And it _won’t_ work. You need to go out and show everyone that you’re actually a good guy! They’ll never see it if you’re hiding all the time.”

Loki hummed, but didn’t reply, choosing instead to fold the newspaper back into its original shape. What the humans thought of him, one way or another, wouldn’t be something which could be so easily changed, and he wasn’t about to agree to the attempt to do so on such sparse evidence.

“You know,” Peter said, his tone catching Loki’s attention, “I heard _Mr. Stark_ talking about how much better it would be if you would join in on missions more…”

The look on Peter’s face was almost comically innocent. It was the look of a boy who wasn’t even trying to be truly subtle in his motives. Loki narrowing his eyes at him didn’t seem to have the least effect. “Has he indeed? Are you certain that’s what you really heard?”

Peter didn’t blink. “Yeah, actually, he has. He’ll talk about you a lot if you get him in the right mood. He says that it would be nice if you’d… come out your shell a bit more.”

Loki stared, waiting for some sort of sign that what he was saying was an exaggeration or a fabrication. It shouldn’t be difficult to spot in either case, as Peter had proven himself to be one of the worst liars Loki had ever met – and considering some of the terrible liars he had met, that was a high bar to have reached.

But there was nothing. No sign at all that Peter was even stretching the truth to suit his ends.

Loki felt the flush come to his face and deliberately turned away from Peter, mind suddenly very busy.

“I’ll think about it,” he said, more seriously than he had before.

He could see Peter grin out of the corner of his eye – a wide, proud grin of one who had gotten exactly what he’d wanted.

—•—

Loki going out of his way to be more involved with the team missions didn’t go unnoticed. Normally his presence was something which was notable by the fact that it rarely happened, and occasionally had to be solicited. Loki showing unprompted interest was something everyone noticed, but no one really seemed to know how to deal with.

Thor was happy, developing an annoying habit of clapping him on the shoulder whenever Loki turned up for anything, as well as feeling the need to comment, complimenting Loki on his decision to be a part of the team. Loki gritted his teeth and made no real response. Peter, of course, was overjoyed to have him more involved in the proceedings. He would go out of his way to stick by Loki’s side, either because he felt the need to provide Loki with company _other_ than Thor, or because he just wanted to be close to him. Either way, Loki was touched at the boy’s thoughtfulness – almost enough to forgive him for having prompted him to do any of this in the first place.

Anthony also seemed to be pleased having Loki more active in the team. He was, at least, more enthusiastic about having him than the others. Besides Peter and Thor – and Anthony – the general feeling on his increased presence was cautious curiosity.

That was fine in Loki’s opinion. He wasn’t there for them.

And it would have been ungenerous to say that Peter’s plan wasn’t working at all. It was noticed when Loki began turning up more with the team when there were evils to fight. There were more articles written, in print and online. According to Peter there was also a lot being said on social media – though he wouldn’t say what exactly. Loki had learned no to pry too much when it came to what happened on the internet, especially if Peter was hesitant to say anything about it. But he _did_ seem to be positive about it, so Loki didn’t worry.

He was more worried about his relationship with Anthony.

He couldn’t help but feel a small stab of hope whenever Peter hinted that the man might have more interest in him than he was showing. Peter and Anthony spent a lot of time together in the labs, hanging out as much – or more than – they were spending time on their projects. If there were someone who would know if Anthony had any interest in Loki, then it would probably be Peter.

The problem was that Peter was also a teenager with an overactive imagination. At least that’s what it seemed like, as Loki continued to improve his reputation in small ways, as he spent more time with the team in their downtime as well, and Anthony never made much of a change in his behavior – other than to seem pleased to see him.

Which wasn’t a bad thing. Anthony being pleased to see him was much, much better than to have him _dis_ pleased to see him. Or to spend time with him, which Anthony also seemed to be perfectly content to do.

“But I _know_ he wants to spend more time with you than this!”

He wasn’t sure when it had happened, when the understanding of Loki’s feelings for Anthony had become definitely known to Peter and just accepted at they were. Peter seemed delighted more than anything – which would probably confound Loki into eternity – and, to Loki’s mild horror, _was actively trying to encourage the relationship to develop_.

“If he does, then he’s doing a very good job of not allowing it to show.”

“He’s just being stubborn,” Peter said, frowning fiercely. “He _does_ want to spend more time with you, he’s just not admitting it…”

“He’s not the only one who’s stubborn,” Loki muttered, trying to ignore Peter’s distracted muttering. Though it was a little nice to have someone who was so concerned with him – even if it was a concern which would never resolve itself in the way Peter was so eager to see happen. “Let it go, Parker. Anthony is an adult and can decide what he wants and what is best for him all on his own.”

Peter gave him a look. “Really? You _have_ met the guy, right?”

Loki laughed, but didn’t reply. There was no point in trying to keep Peter from doing what he wanted, or in spending time trying to figure out what Anthony may or may not really want. They would each do what they wanted without much in the way of input from him, so he was just leave them to it.

It probably wasn’t the most intelligent thing he could have done.

—•—

Being invited out by Peter to meet him at a shopping center should have been a big red flag. It ought to have warned him, at least, that something was up, that he was _planning_ something. But he hadn’t thought about it, and had arrived at the center not expecting anything but to find Peter waiting for him.

Instead, he’d rounded the corner, and instead of seeing Peter, he saw Anthony.

Loki froze, and stifled a groan. Of course. Of course Peter would do something like this to try and force the situation along. Peter had gone and invited each of them to the same place, but separately so that neither of them was aware the other would be there… and then just wasn’t going to turn up himself.

Loki sighed. Did the boy really think that such a simple plan was actually going to _work?_ He was going to have to teach him to construct more effective pranks. Though, that just might encourage him to make the attempt again on Loki and Anthony. Maybe later, once he was no longer fixated on the two of them getting together.

Well, there was no point in following through with the ridiculous setup. There was the chance that Peter had more to this plan that jus the two of them being in the same place at the same time and alone with one another. He wasn’t in much of a mood to deal with a day of fielding that sort of thing. He turned away, ready to walk back to the Tower and his reading—when he stopped.

There was no reason for him to have to sit through whatever ridiculousness Peter had planned, true. But there was also no reason for Anthony to spend who knew how long in waiting for him when he was never going to show up. And knowing Anthony, if Peter didn’t show up when he _said_ he would, then Anthony would end up spending the entire day worrying.

Sighing, Loki turned back around again, heading back to Anthony to tell him that _he_ should go home as well—

Motion caught Loki’s eye. He looked up, and his heart nearly stopped.

A chunk of granite—of the building Anthony was standing outside was plummeting down to the ground—right towards Anthony.

He moved without thinking. There was no time to consider strategy or to construct some spell to act at a distance. Faster to teleport forward, sweeping Anthony up in his arms. The man gasped, started to struggle before he realized who it was who had a hold of him, and then they were teleporting away again.

When they landed, only a couple dozen feet away from where Anthony _had_ been standing before, Loki tried to catch his breath.

 _Too close,_ he thought. Of all the things he would have thought of as being an actual danger to Anthony, ‘poor infrastructure’ hadn’t been on the list. Aliens and villains, yes; buildings, no.

As he tried to catch his breath, he felt Anthony move, and realized he was still holding him.

“Well,” he said, before Loki could put him down. He was staring up at Loki, eyes wide. He looked mildly absurd, being held in Loki’s arms the way he was, but he didn’t appear to care at all what _he_ looked like.

Loki paused under the stare, caught up in the way Anthony was looking at him, a mix of wonder and amusement in his eyes. He shifted, preparing to set the man back on his feet, and then stopped when one of Anthony’s hands came up and touched his cheek.

“My hero,” he said softly.

It felt as though Loki’s heart had stopped completely, his thoughts not fairing much better. The only thought which seemed to have survived was that perhaps being called a hero wasn’t so bad after all.

The moment was broken by a small flash, making both of them look up.

Loki had been wrong. Peter _had_ made it to the scene, though he wasn’t appearing as Peter. Dressed in his Spiderman suit, he held a camera in his hands. And Loki could make a very shrewd guess at what he had just taken a photo of.

Perhaps of even more interest, though, was the bit of granite which had been falling. It appeared that it had never landed. It was suspended above the ground, a thick cord of webbing acting as a sort of bungee cord to keep it from smashing to the earth.

Peter waved at them. “Hey, guys,” he said, sounding pleased with himself even through the mask. “You’re welcome!”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone!
> 
> You can find me on  
> Tumblr: [@ehtarwrites](http://ehtarwrites.tumblr.com/)  
> Twitter: [@ehtarwrites](https://twitter.com/ehtarwrites)  
> Discord: @ehtarwrites#4962 
> 
> If anyone wants to come say hi or chat about nerdy things, hmu! ♥


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